Celebrate Community & Music 2017

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin is a small town of only 18,000 but it has a big heart and a lot of talent! There are almost 3,500 members in our non-profit group Friends of Rapids Music (FRM) which is made up of amateur and professionals musicians, music venues, and "music lovers" across all musical genres in Rapids and Central Wisconsin. Our sole purpose is to support live local music and those who provide it. We want to raise money for our festival June 2018 which will be a celebration of community and music and will increase our fund to help local musicians, music educators, music students applying to college, and music venues. Last year we were able to give away $1,000 to a local program to provide FREE music lessons to adults and children who might not otherwise be able to afford them, and we donated $500 toward the purchase of a wheelchair accessible van for the family of a young Wisconsin Rapids music lover. We have big plans to keep on giving to the musical interests of Wisconsin Rapids and Central Wisconsin. For example perhaps a  graduating senior has been asked to travel to the East coast to audition at a private music college. We could help. Or a promising young (or not so young) musician can't afford to record a demo for an interested music producer. We could help. Or a music teacher is struggling AGAIN with budget cuts. We could help.

For 2018, our music fest will have 9 local bands playing everything from blues to rock to polka to jazz all day June 16th. And our headliner is Hip Pocket from Wausau. (see video attached) Of course a regionally known band like Hip Pocket isn't cheap and all of the other expenses of a festival can really add up, but with your help and the help we've already received from local businesses and individuals, we could not only have a great festival but also increase the fund that could help both amateur and professional musicians in our area for years to come.

Already businesses and individuals in our area have donated time, money, products and services to this effort. So we hope you'd like to join us too! We will be forever indebted to those who support this cause and who support live music everywhere!